this is one hour.

>> hello, everyone. we are going to get this event started. welcome, everyone, to the national press club, the place where news happens. i am an editor at bloomberg news and the 111th president of the national press club. for a long time, the airline industry has been flying high but in recent months, there has been turbulence. there have been highly oflicized incidents passengers captured on video and posted for all the world to see. the industry has suffered mechanical failures, one resulting in a passengers death damaged aircraft -- aircraft and chicken passengers. as recorded -- reported by bloomberg, airline space, political, it economic, and workforce totals, [inaudible] ofing prices and shortage

islets and technicians threatens to limit opportunities for growth. remainsrlines comfortably airborne under ceo ed bastian. increase and he says demand remains healthy. he noted that were than 3 million passengers over the recent memorial day weekend. the company has paid out more than $1 billion in profit sharing to employees over the past four years, a 20 year , heran of delta airlines was named ceo in may 2016. he was -- has been working to expand deltas global footprint and enhance customer experience in the air and on the ground. earlier this year, he was named one of the world's 50 greatest ,eaders by fortune magazine joining the ranks of bill and melinda gates, south korean

president moon, and groundbreaking athlete serena williams. during his tenure, delta has become the word -- the world's most awarded airline, named the top u.s. airline and most admired airline worldwide, the most on-time global airline by flight and a glass store employees to his company. when asked to sum up his job his response is taking care of our people. please join me in welcoming at best into the national press club. [no audio] [applause] will introduce the people sitting at our head table. they are starting here from the north america editor [inaudible] and edward russell, america's

finance editor at flight global, we have tom young, a freelance writer and commercial airline npc headliners team member. we have kept him -- president of the airlines pilot international association. ned walker, the chief mediation's officer at delta. -- communications officer at delta. we have the head of corporate medications for north america and the national press club headliner's team member and america's aviation reporter at seniorbill cassiday, editor at the journal of lord,ce, and we have bill

the former affiliate [inaudible] and a member of the headliners team. washington correspondent at the atlanta journal-constitution, betsy fischer martin, cochair of the national credit -- pres club headliners team. thank you for being here. please join me in welcoming that had table -- the head table. [applause] >> and our speaker today, esther bastian -- mr. bastian.

thank you for being here today. welcome to washington. >> it is great to be here. >> it is not your first visit nor will it be your last. >> that is correct. since we are into in washington, let's talk about the political debate. onre do you see deltas place issues such as immigration and not condemning trumps policy as forcefully as some of your competitors. does delta have a responsibility to speak out on such issues question mark you talk about the morality of the situation. you can talk about it here today. for -- itg that issue is to connect the world, to connect families, not to separate families and anything

that runs counter that -- to that mission, that was an issue last week, we are opposed to it. we are opposed to it in this room. we also know that many of the actions that were interpreted as separating, the airlines were flying kids to reunite families as comparing -- compared to separate them. we wanted to make certain while there is an important need to speak in this climate, we want to make sure you understand the facts. >> fantastic. you said last week that companies are needing to [inaudible] due to a vacuum in leadership not just in the u.s. but around the world. you are using the example of environmental issues while delta was pledging to reduce emissions. me what you mean

about the vacuum of leadership and what are some of the other areas in which delta has had to step in? question,text for the i was speaking with richard branson and we were speaking on a wide set of topics and one of the topics that came up was the fact that in the world today and as an airline, we live in the world, we are out there worldwide, we will carry 200 million customers this year, there's a lot of angst, a lot of fear area and there is a polarization at a level that at least in my lifetime i do not recall having to encounter. that polarization again runs counter to our mission as an airline, which is you -- to unite the world. not just here in washington where you see divisive discussions going on. it is whether it is brexit, you see it going on in italy, in mexico with the election that is occurring next week, we are in a position where people are retreating rather than coming in

a more unified way. that was to me one of the reasons why i said business leaders increasingly are being called into that vacuum to speak and let people know where we stand on topics. it is not an issue with an unwillingness to speak. it is an issue in terms of the topics you are speaking on. >> very good. one of the topics you spoke on ,ith your actions was you ended the nra, when you ended a discount program for groups from the nra. that prompted a fight in the georgia legislature and legislators stripped delta of some tax breaks. again, what this are the lessons you have learned from that? >> the issue around the inner a came out as a result of what happened at parkland high school with the shootings there.

shortly after that, a lot of the divisive commentary and rhetoric that was being expressed at the time, a lot of it coming from the an area itself, we saw this the nraur brand was on website. we offered a small discount program for their members to travel to their annual convention. we could not be seen as endorsing or implying any kind of support for the actions and the words of the inner a was using and we ask them to remove our brand from the debate and to take us off the website and we were going to be ending that discount program going forward. which in georgia, given there is a high number of nra cardholders, created backlash on us because they were about ready to pass a jet fuel tax exemption that would have saved delta $40

million. if we did not undo that decision, they would not provide us that tax abatement. we were not going to let the georgia state legislature dictate our policies or our values and we said that is not something that we are willing to have a discussion with them around and if they decide to keep the money, they keep the money but we are not changing our values based on having money held over our head. cagle ledant governor the fight against delta. how will his role impact your relationship? >> we would be supportive of the state, that is home for delta. there is a lot of issues we have a lot of debate around. if he is the governor, we will do our best to support him. >> thank you. impactsee any long-term

impact was the loss of the talk -- tax value. while it is an emotional issue, with a of rhetoric on both more, i have received many positive comments that negative expressions relative to that decision. there are a number of people that will probably upset with us. there was one without it was important to speak out on. -- we thought it was important to speak out on. to be a social activist ceo.

the very best airline in the world. when you have our values and cultures and you know who you are, there is times you are called to speak. >> what steps is delta taking to accidents that other airlines have taken in the past year? what about social media? it has changed the business for all of us in various ways. over time, over -- every one of

our customers is an amateur videographer. at any point of some type of disruption, whether it is in an airport -- you will see people pulling out their phone and taking a video. people have a moment where they want to draw attention to themselves. and lookte a ruckus for something in return. our employees are the very best in the business. they are used to being on stage all the time, in front of 200 people as opposed to 200 million people, if you think about the impact of social media. i think we have done a good job

of maintaining the delta brand. we focus on taking care of the needs of our customers and not getting caught up with too many of these social media uproar's. and things were exploding on that front a couple of years ago, we increased our operations control center. on board a plane who has the ultimate decision as relativeeeds to occur to a decision to take a passenger off, or anything else he or sheo flight, can call into our operations control center and give experts the full access, including our social media communications team. recently, politics and mentioned the creation -- paula

creationmentioned the of an in class transportation group. how do you see this group operating, and what are the benefits? we are the business of also have aut we large cargo business. we will generate close to a billion dollars in revenue cargo. we will have an opportunity to run that more efficiently and have a good opportunity for some cost savings. let's talk a little bit about trade. what threats does delta face war the budding trade

between the united states and other countries? we have been victimized by unfair trade practices over some years. with the respect to the administration's policy of giving u.s. workers the biggest -- best chance at success to create the level playing field, we are 100% with giving american workers be opportunities to compete on a level field. delta has an issue with respect adult middle eastern carriers, tens of billions of dollars in subsidies they have used to traffic off traditional u.s. airlines and other big airlines around the world. this is basically serving as a form of government agency you compete against. you cannot win against a government agency that has an unlimited pocketbook. we appreciate the stance of our

stop theation to subsidies into those parts of the world we have been run out of, as well as the opportunity to make sure our customers understood that delta has that right to fly. as a result, we are going back into india. we announced an expansion of our services to seoul, south korea. weare going to japan and have launched services from atlanta to shanghai. about two thirds of our revenue base is in the united states. overtime, the revenue in our international business can rival what is in the domestic side, as long as we are taking our flying opportunities.

these settlements, to not additments, new routes to markets like europe and the united states. what sort of benefits do you see for adults, there? europe is about 20% of our revenues. it is our strongest international base. we travel across the , and we are in the to make theombining largest international airline in the world. as a result, we will be able to grow and expand. the issue you are referring to freedom flying -- is

fifth freedom flying. these were the routes we were sensitive around. that was taking traffic that was that were not sourced or coming out of the middle east. 100% of that traffic was being stolen off of traditional carriers. we have no objection to the amount of flying those carriers still between our country and to buy or abu dhabi. when theyject to is take countries and start to use subsidies to steal that. >> can you give us some examples of new flights? let's do it. >> [laughter] andrea: you mentioned india.

what do you think your growth potential is for the company in india. ? ed: india is one of the largest economies in the world. when you think about long-term growth, we need to be. the national airline of india takes a lot of the traffic space and lowers prices to the point we cannot economically afford to fly there. we are now going back into india and who will be coming out of the east coast direct to -- we will be coming out of the east coast direct to mumbai. andrea: can you tell me your specific goals for the market? ed: it is a high-technology field. a tremendous amount of innovation is going on.

we will be working in concert with jet airways, bringing traffic to mumbai and find it to other parts of india as well. on a one-stop basis out of either atlanta or jfk, you'll be able to go to many points across southeast asia on that one route. it is going to be a significant opportunity for growth projections of the world. this is one of the highest regions we expect for the future. andrea: you mentioned technology. some aircraft manufacturers are planning more efficient regional aircraft, even battery-powered models are in the works. is that something you can see yourself employing in a place like southeast asia? how do you see that impacting major airlines? ed: we don't have the ability to fly within southeast asia.

we can fly to it, but we don't have the air rights to fly within southeast asia. one of the new technologies we are excited about his project bombardier. we're going to be the launch customer in north america. it is one of the nicest domestic aircraft, flying. it will have spacious seats and widebodied windows. upgrade fromgreat a great upgrade from a lot of markets that have smaller regional jets, moving to larger regional jets. what we are doing in our business is building larger airports with larger upsize oures to business. andrea: let's talk a bit about

boeing. you have said you would like to be a launch customer for boeing's new midmarket, midrange jet, the 797. is that still the case? enough information to assess capabilities? understand, boeing has not even made the decision to build the aircraft. toneed a successor aircraft the 767. fly, definitely be larger version of the 757. the majority of these aircraft will be retired in the next decade. new technologies have been very

successful. we would like to continue to upgrade that market segment and create the next midmarket aircraft, the 797. we've had discussions with boeing about being a potential launch customer. i think boeing is interested in getting back to the marketplace. it is where the price point needs to be, what is the range, the target we want to see, the expectation of the airlines, not just operationally, but from a customer standpoint. the largest new aircraft is extraordinarily expensive. the 787 was tens of millions of dollars to build. they want to bring the plane to airlines sooner. be one ofe happy to

those airlines. andrea: what about the plane would you like to see? ed: we want the cheapest plans, so we can fly customers around the world. we don't want the overbilled -- to overbuild. sometimes you can build too much range and it becomes more expensive and you are suboptimal relative to your mission needs. is an aircraft that is comfortable, particularly on the international front. we have been making big investments in our international product. aircraft design , the firste year had won it.airline

the continued innovation we bring into the marketplace is really important. a: if you could talk about what that plane would look like inside, ideally, if you had your druthers. some airlines are moving to seats that are almost stand-up in the aircraft. .> not at delta andrea andrea: are you looking at wider seats? ed: we have been trying to differentiate our seats and pr oduct specs to the price points for customers and if they have a lower price point, they are willing to forgo some of the traditional benefits. forgoandup seats --

potentially a seat assignment, frequent-flier miles, may be be last on board and get a reduced cost for that. am talk about come swith enclosed doors, the ultimate in privacy. we also have the delta premium select on our international aircraft. if you can't afford the cost of maybeat bed, but for more of a price over tehe main cabin, you have a much more spacious, comfortable product in which to travel over asia, we have that for you. delta-plus has several inches of additional pitch. doing that product differentiation is a marketer's

.ream were trying to communicate to you aretomers, -- trying to communicate to your customers, who are arriving and departing at the same time, why they should be -- pay a premium for the experience. andrea: in terms of comfort, what are some of the next things delta is looking at fort aircraft? -- for its aircraft? cabin, we wantn customers to be able to upgrade. from the traditional 31 inch you will get something closer to 33 or 35 inches. customers desire more legroom, the ability to pay more for a more spacious seat. andrea: tell us about what you

have in the pipeline? -- gave youive you are full product portfolio. -- our full product portfolio. andrea: let's go back to atlanta. the state legislature is looking at the possibility of taking over the airport. what is your position on that deck? ed: we don't understand the need for that. hartsfield-jackson is the largest airport in the world, the best run and the most successful. thes the best asset southeast has in my opinion. it is growing at a faster clip than other big metropolitan regions in the country. the have been political and some corruption scandals.

time,ts of jackson over there have been a series of corruption scandals. that may be part of the impetus for the state to take a more active field as to what the ownership of the governance is of the airport. i don't think the state will necessarily do a better job of cleaning it up. the airport is not something we should politicize. the airport is something in which we should invest in and grow. andrea: very good. thank you. i had a question about investment i wanted to ask you. here is one more question about premiums i am going to throw in their -- throw in there. you said delta would have double-digit increases threat the year in premium -- throughout the year in premium.

what kind of premiums will he be offering? -- you be offering? our first growing class premium seats by 12%. premium seating than any airline on the globe, in size and scale. we will continue growing because that is what we know our customers are looking for. let me ask you, since we are talking about overseas flight, let's talk a little bit about joint ventures with airlines and other countries. -- in other countries. you set up your newest joint venture with korean air in may. how was it performing and how the delta plan to expand leverage of this joint venture to expand in asia? ed: korean air is one of the

largest airlines around the globe. , only recently have we created this joint venture which allows us to shed this traffic on and enhanced basis. in japan, the japanese have put a lot of pressure. fly to alwasys going to dca if you are coming into d.c. as a result, we're opening up a hub in south korea. they just opened another terminal two, whichwo,

has 45 gates. it is the nicest terminal in all of asia. the only airlines that will operate out of that terminal are caribbean, delta, air france airlines. immediately, it gives delta the opportunity to have 80 destinations beyond seoul at our disposal. seoulbring customers to to 80 destinations, including 30 in china, with one of the most efficient hubs in the world, from a delta customer standpoint, we unlock tremendous value and access to the world. one-stop out of minneapolis we just announced -- one stop out of minneapolis we just announced two homes anywhere you want to go in asia. that is the power of that

partnership. andrea: what about thoughts you haven't announced yet? ed: we would like those new routes. andrea: [laughter] the virgin atlantic airlines does this mean for the various divisions of these airlines? and m cooperate with ultratech operations -- operations? ed: the virgin atlantic delta partnership is going great. delta did not even fly to london heathrow's airport.

there were restrictions against access into the market. skies opened the market to us, it became very expensive guys open to the market to us, it became very expensive to get access. it was cost prohibitive to gain access. we gained access by investing. operateummer, we will 35 hubs a day, transatlantic and virgin combined, where is five years ago, delta operated -- deltaaas five years ago, operated none. the next step is to link what we have with airfrance and klm.

jv.ant to create a single that is so european partners can to create the, seamless service for customers and make the investments in technology for the customer experience. those joint ventures in the future will be operating as one, primarily for the benefit of our customers. andrea: you mentioned china. the growth in routes to and from china, business relations between the u.s. and china are key areas of growth, your advanta-shanghai route -- atlanta-shanghai route restarts

next month. what are your views on the tariff debate in washington, particularly as it relates to china, and how else could those tariffs impact delta? tariffs impacted is positively, seeing the administration speak out. us positively, seeing the administration speak out. i am not a tariff expert. trade wars and a terrace in general are not good for business. in general are not good for business. there are legitimate concerns that ought to be addressed. betweenpect to travel china and the u.s., it is growing in double digits.

we have not seen any slowdown or pullback in any meaningful way as a result of some of the more recent headline news about pending tariff actions. if you see the cost of steel or comingm or commodities ick to impact us in some way, am not an international trade expert -- i am appreciative of what the administration dead to address our trade issue. did to address our trade issue. are you looking to expand your partnerships in china? we announced we just started flying into shanghai. we invested a couple of years ago in china eastern, a shanghai-based carrier, one of the best carriers in all of china.

opportunity to work alongside them is going to be meaningful. i have one more question. ed: test questions. andrea: you know all the answers, you have all the answers. [laughter] boeing a leader from said his company is working on a long-term rmd project to r&d project to increase the speed of twof the plane to mach 6. is this realistic, and how soon?

already,ve seen that the concorde. one of the challenges with that technology, there will be a market segment that will desire it, but will it be large enough? will they pay enough of a premium for that time savings they will be saying? will haves investment to be undertaken to create that level of technology. one of the great successes and air transportation is the democratization -- of air transportation is the democratization of air travel. i describe our brand today as a lifestyle brand. people incorporate our brand into their daily decisions, in terms of what they are going to do and where they are going to live.

we have made it easy and comfortable to be a part of, myself as an-- example. how i wound up in the seed i'm not sure. it would not have been possible if not for bringing prices down and to expand travel to the masses. yet, there are still billions of people in the world who have not yet traveled. i was 25 years old. i was living in asia, and i think that is where the opportunity for our industry is, to continue to make isis affordable for -- prices affordable to for travel. we will see what they will do in that regard. proponent of'm a making it easier to access more people rather than investing a significant sum for select few. andrea: thank you. speaking of investments and your plancapacity,

investments and recent investments in new aircraft and terminal renovation will help expand passion to her capacity. what investments are you looking to make to expand freight capacity, and how would you categorize air cargo capacity today? ed: we do not have an air cargo dedicated business. it is in the belly of our aircrafts. we're working about sales arrangements to carry cargo, not necessarily carry more cargo but to add better tracking devices, and better technologies so that our customers know the location and delivery times on a more efficient means. you talk about the airports. they are a big part of our investment for the future.

respect to our aircraft, seats, comfort of flying, and the bigger aircraft to fly through. i think the airports are the biggest opportunity we have that is still ahead of us to change the customer experience on the ground. if we don't have airports today that fit the needs, you think about the footprint of our airport, many were built 50 or 60 years ago. they emphasize the front door, the big ceilings, but i don't know anyone who spends a lot of time in the henhouse of an airport. you want to be at the gate, make ure there is time, and everybody wants to get on board at the same time, i don't understand that. or you expect that we all get there, and you have this comer scumer onrding -- the the boarding. heavilything we have

delved into is biometrics. as you go to the security process, the lines and inefficiencies of the process, working with tsa, we have also made that clear. using biometrics, you can increase the speed of getting people through the security process. we've also invested heavily in another one as well. you're using many of the design teams and elements. i was in london, and at our clubhouse. was looking forward to coming home on sunday, i did not want to leave the club health because it was so nice. it is that level of experience. traveledr anyone the with delta, we are reopening the sky club that has been under

renovation for a. of time. periodack out -- for a of time. it is back out. --drea: andrea: andrea: and all of you can find the delta ceo there later this afternoon. [laughter] very get. -- good. tells the upgrades of the sky club. will see more comfortable seating area, better food options, better drink services, and just a more comfortable environment. a more relaxed environment. andrea: thank you. i have a question from the audience here about automation. automationn reads, is an emerging technology affecting travel on the ground, in the air, and without human input. house delta preparing for an increasingly autonomous world? ed: we're watching that.

i'll see if there will be pilotless aircraft in our future. i'm not getting on it if there is. it is autonomous vehicles, anything that creates more motion and more opportunity for people to travel and go the distances and places, is going to add to our experiences. was thate for years videoconferencing would eliminate the need for people to travel. human interaction just builds on itself. the videoconferencing world exists but not has made any dent at all to continue to travel for business or pleasure. these new alternative forms of transportation will be the same thing. anything that keeps able moving together is a good thing for our business. andrea: thank you. let's talk a little bit about loyalty programs. and with its doing

partners to enhance loyalty benefits? ed: loyalty is a great topic. we have the best partnership with american express. we are exclusive partners to an american express --american express. carrying the american express delta credit card gives you perks for free bags, or opportunities to upgrade your experience. one of the things you will see develop over time is taking the sky program and creating a courtesy out of it. we have points but we want to turn it into a currency people can use for more things, and put a value against it, and have people want to own more of the currency and do more with it. especially the high-volume travelers have an enormous amount of miles and they are sitting there to be expended.

we want to create more burn opportunities. american express working with delta will do that. we want to be able to take those currencies, dubai trips, maybe if you want to buy down the cost of your trip, or pay for it one way in use your miles the other way. there are a lot of other things you can do, from a currency standpoint, rather than as he mile. whether it is for product, or other things, we are interested in redeeming the currency and keeping it fresh. if you are talking about using skymiles to purchase a flight on delta, often you have to use more miles to buy a flight to minneapolis then you would if you are using united miles. is there any thought to making delta skymiles more valuable? ed: i'm not sure that is the

case. you'll have to show me on your illustration. the one thing we have done without program is turn into a dynamic form of pricing in currency. the price changes. it used to be 20,000 miles to get a ticket. there was no rhyme or reason, it was a very simplistic model. today, we have many trips that are less than 20,000 miles that you can go on. we have some trips that are more popular that are more. it is a function of supply and demand as compared to having this traditional black and white ingrained price point that everyone -- the world doesn't work that way. if there is high demand you want to get greater value. and where there is not much as demand, we drop points lower to incentivize. andrea: it seems like a standard business practice. ed: it is.

we use it with our skymiles as well. andrea: excellent. skymileso make those omph? little more ed: they already have tremendous omph. andrea: are there any markets you are looking to cut capacity? ed: no. andrea: ok. that is interesting. just expansion for you? ed: my answer know is, i will not answer your question. andrea: oh, alright. ed: we just did announce recently we are stopping service between seattle and hong kong because the market demand was not what we thought it was going to be. i won't speak to any future capacity.

i don't look good behind bars. andrea: in stripes. [laughter] lasta: you are among the of the global airlines to not comply with china's order to recognize taiwan is part of china. what will delta do? ed: we are working with the u.s. authorities on the topic and we will stay close to our u.s. government. andrea: ok. that seems like a sound plan of action. let me ask briefly, what impacts our rising oil prices, delta, are you lobbying the administration to keep oil prices down? ed: we are not lobbying to keep prices down. rising oil prices are a function , like in this business, prices

are one of the biggest inputs we have an iq two-year basis -- a year-to-year basis. our margins are down a little this year because of the rising fuel prices. the last estimate i saw, it will cost us $2 billion more this year. is a pretty hefty tax on the business that we have to work through. typically in our business, it takes anywhere from six to 12 months before fuel prices will be successfully included in terms of increased price in the market. we have made money, which are today and $80 range in the past. we have made fuel prices that are at $80, and at $40. this will be our fourth year in a row for profits over five dollars. this will be the fourth year we

have done that. the costs -- that goes with all different types of fuel markets. we are seeing and our market like never before. this is on the reliability of the company. that reliability is what the people are delivering. one of the things we are most that ouris the fact reliability is breaking records around the industry. last year, we had a streak of 50 days in a row without a cancellation worldwide. no airline has ever done anything close to that. our people are outstanding. the product that you have build greater customer satisfaction. andrea: i have a question here products.ific as fuel costs rise, and you try to make up -- bring revenues

higher with great products, are there any specific products that you see driving higher revenue? where are your biggest revenue opportunities? ed: the biggest opportunities we have right now are the international growth we are having for business. we are seeing good pricing traction, great opportunities that are growing in every region around the world. you hear about concerns particularly in europe. our european revenues are up 15% in a year-to-year basis. the -- a consider all considerable amount of traction going on on the international front. we also have, getting back to we products specifically, are talking about all of the product categories we have, everything is enclosed cabins, do basic economy where people walk on the plane and grabbed a seat. -- grab their seat.

we are pricing each one so the opportunities to charge a differentiated price for differentiated service is something the industry has never seen. it is enabling us to generate incremental revenue. or, customer choice, customers are choosing what products they want as opposed to fees and add-ons were forced to the market. we want to create pool for the product. andrea: speaking of fees, the wall street journal today reported on carrier imposed fees on international flights read those began on fuel surcharges that are arbitrary. what is delta's policy. ed: for fuel surcharges? in most jurisdictions, but not tothe u.s., we are allowed put a fuel surcharge based on the rising price of fuel in the market. in tokyo and japan, there is a

process you apply to the government and you can add the surcharge at a certain price point. in the u.s., we are not able to and as aurcharges result, we have to get a core pricing set. andrea: one more question on fuel. what has been the biggest challenges of owning the refinery and would delta written -- would delta have bought the refinery if it had to do it over? ed: absolutely. the refinery we own has set outside of philadelphia and is a great success. we are proud owners of it, it is andfinery that was reopened almost a 100-year-old facility. we opened it when many of the refineries were in the process of being closed. it gave us an opportunity to not only put people back to work, but also create fuel supply for

just fuel. the moment we opened trainer back online, we increased the jet fuel supply by 40%. in so doing, not only did provide us great feed for our aircraft, but he kept pricing lower. you immediately reduce the cost of that in the marketplace. at that point in time, it was costing us in the market almost $25 a barrel. that is on top of the $100 a barrel for the crude to buy it. that has been good for us and consumers. we have made close to $100 million in profit for that. the refinery only cost is 150 million. andrea: those are good numbers. one of the challenges? ed: it is large, complex. it is not for the faint of heart. the capital investment, it is a 100-year-old facility and safety

concerns in terms. it is not something that is core of our business. graham should be answering some of these questions. we have some of the leading oil professionals in the world, on the ground, and it is a big part of our cost structure. wea result in trainer, indirectly and directly sell a lot of our fuel out of that facility. it is a pretty impressive little operation. andrea: thank you. we have a couple of minutes left here. i have two more questions. one, looking back on your career, who has been your greatest mentor and why? ed: i've had so many. i would get in trouble if i start to single them out. i would say number one is my

mom. she is my hero in life and she keeps me in check. this job as too many accolades to my credentials, she assure to put me in the right frame of mind as moms tend to do in keeps the focus. hadof the real mentors i've that i taking great pleasure in working with is jerry current jarred crinstein. he is a wonderful friend and gave me a lot of confidence. i was surprised when he told me he thought i could do this job one day. when you think about a mentor, you toy that forces stretch beyond what is possible, he believes in me before i believed in myself. andrea: the final burning

question, window or aisle? ed: i'll -- aisle. andrea: on domestic flights traveled, only in coach, right? move.casionally i have to andrea: we would really like to thank you for coming here and speaking with us today. ed: it has been fun, a great pleasure, and i appreciate the opportunity. andrea: before you leave, we would like to present you with our national mug. we give this to all of our esteemed speakers. please use this in good health. ed: thank you, i appreciate it. andrea: thank you for coming. [applause] thank you everybody for coming to today's luncheon and hearing delta's ceo. i think it was an excellent experience for me, we were happy to have you here and we hope you come back. headlines, there are

speakers coming to the national press club and they include alan alda who will be here on july 11. have the2, we president and ceo of union pacific. july 16, we have a luncheon with the commissioner of major league baseball. there are lots of other great event happening at the press club read please check out our website. please comeinvited, back. with that, we are out. thank you. [applause]